Ten years ago, Jarabe Mexicano started making music at San Diego University with one mission: to play songs that resonate with the members' experiences living on the southern border.
While all original members except lead singer Gustavo Alcoser have left the band, he said it’s always been about sharing their roots.
“We advocate for the arts, of course,” Alcoser said. “But, culture is something that we really highlight in our show.”
The word “jarabe” translates roughly to “mixture or concoction” which they try to display by playing different genres of music that inspired their childhood on the border such as cumbia, rock and even polka.
“Being Latino really is about always carrying your roots on your back,” Alcoser said. “For the majority of Latinos, one of the things that unites us is the fact that in many ways, we refuse to forget the past.”
Alcoser said being Latino reminds him of being a global citizen. Though some genres of Latino music originated from Latin America or Spain, others stemmed from a mix of different cultures. For example, cumbia originates from the Caribbean and infuses African and Indigenous beats.
“That's one of the things that I like to highlight, is that being Mexican in the United States usually means being one thing and I like to remind people, no, being Mexican means to be many, many things already,” Alcoser said.
Though Alcoser was born in the United States, at the age of five his family moved to Tijuana, Mexico where he was raised by a single mother. However, some band members such as the drummer Danny Brito, sing from the place of being a first-generation American.
“It's weird they would cross to Mexico to visit family, to do many things like go shopping or whatever entertainment,” Alcoser said about growing up on the other side of the border. “But I lived in Tijuana growing up, and would cross the border going the other way, right?”
“I felt very at home, being able to hear something in my language and being able to understand and I felt so connected,” said Elon freshman Jeliannie Vidal. Vidal is from New Jersey, but both of her parents are from Mexico.
Her friend and freshman Maria Rosas was sending videos to her family, who were excited to hear a song they recognized.
“It just made me feel very seen, especially because there isn't a huge population of Mexicanos here,” Rosas said.
According to the Office of State Budget and Management, in 2021 50% of the Latine population in North Carolina identifies as Mexican or Mexican-American.
Alcoser said universities have a special place in his heart because Jarabe Mexicano started at his alma mater, San Diego University. With the Trump administration’s recent policies targeting the Latino community, specifically those living in the country illegally, he says he recognizes the role higher education plays in fighting back. According to Reuters, out of the estimated 200,000 immigrants deported since President Trump took office, 39,000 of them have been of Mexican descent.
“Universities, for the longest time, have been kind of the last bastion of hope when it comes to culture, specifically for minorities,” Alcoser said. “And I feel that it takes guts again, it takes guts to do that kind of work.”
This is Jarabe Mexicano’s second time on campus after performing last year. The band includes Brito the drummer, Esteban Smith who plays the guitar, Eduardo Valencia on the vihuela and their newest member Antonio Pró on the guitarrón, a very large bass acoustic instrument. Pró, known for his talent in mariachi, had added more of that musical genre into their show, singing the classic “El Rey” by Vicente Fernandez.
Music director and drummer, Danny Brito performs with Jarabe Mexicano on Sept. 11 in McCrary Theatre.
On Sept. 11, Jarabe Mexicano played their Fiesta and Familia program in McCrary Theatre, which consisted of about 15 being sung out of a 40 song on rotation.
During Jarabe Mexicano’s last visit to Elon, they were in a rush to get back to the West Coast, according to Acoser. However, this time the band has time to check out the local community.
“We often like to go out and visit your community and go see the sites or both,” Alcoser said. “Maybe visit the Hispanic community, the nearest Hispanic community.”
Jarabe Mexicano shows not only try to showcase their own upbringing, they also try to engage with the audience. Alcoser danced on stage while encouraging the crowd to clap and sing with him.
Vidal said she is excited to come back next year if they are invited back to campus. For Rosas, she said seeing people who attended the event, but who are not Latine, made her feel proud of her culture, especially knowing that people of different backgrounds were interested in hers.
This is Hagopian’s second time attending the event. She went last year and liked it so much that she knew she had to come this year when she found out Jarabe Mexicano was coming back. As a white student she said she sees the value in attending cultural events like this performance.
“It's really important that other people have open minds and live open minded,” sophomore Sam Hagopian said. “And when you grow up around these events where you celebrate different cultures, I feel like that automatically ingrains in your head.”
Alcoser said he is honored that Elon liked the performance last year so much that they asked Jarabe Mexicano to come back again.
"It's all about creating ties and connections with the community,” Alcoser said. “It tells us, it lets us know that we've done our job and that people have enjoyed it.”
Logan Davila contributed to the reporting of this article.